Amended Perception
by Lost to the Hoping
Summary: Sometimes, it takes another story to see the value beneath the surface, and some things always remain the same. Pairings not yet decided, but no, it won't be TamaHaru. Ongoing


**Amended Perception****  
****Fandom: Ouran Koko Hostu Bu****  
****Summary: Sometimes, it takes another story to see the value beneath the surface, and some things always remain the same.****  
****Rating: T****  
****Warning: AU from the very beginning, minor swearing, complete restructuring of the Ouran Koko character dynamic.**

**A/N: I would like to note that this is a chapter fic, however it will probably be updated sporadically. I am not focusing my attention to this story. I DO intend to finish it, eventually, but this is what I shall consider my 'on the side' story. Thank you in advanced for your patience, and I hope you're willing to wait for the updates to this. If I can, I'll try to make them longer chapters to make up for it. Enjoy!**

"Oh, Haruhi. Before you go..." The brunet, dressed in pajamas but still managing to appear to be in drag, rummaged in a bag that he'd set beside the table before breakfast. He pulled out a yellow dress with white trimming and grinned up at his daughter. "In celebration of our managing to get the gum out _before_ you gave up and cut it... I went out and bought your school's uniform."

The younger brunette smiled at her father. "Thank you, otosan," she said, taking the dress from him. "I thought I'd have to go in this..." she mumbled, picking at the brown sweater she wore.

"Never!" her father declared dramatically. "I, Ranka, shall never allow my darling daughter to go dressed in such a manner!"

Haruhi shook her head, brown eyes warm despite her obvious exasperation. "Okay, tosan," she said, dropping her bag. "Be right back!"

"Hurry! Change!" he gushed, eyes twinkling.

Until a book fell from the bookshelf behind him and landed on his head.

"... ouch."

xXx

Haruhi peered around the classroom as she stepped inside. Most of the attention was focused on a pair of twins in the back row, who were gushing over something, and more than a couple girls looked ready to faint. Haruhi shook her head and spotted a seat in the front right-hand corner. Quickly, she claimed it.

No sooner had she done so than did the bell ring and the teacher step into the room, beaming at them all. "Hello, wonderful first years!" she exclaimed, setting down her suitcase beside her own desk at the front. She waved boisterously at them, then sat. "I'm Nakamura Minami! It's so very nice to meet all of you! You may call me Naka-sensei, of course." She beamed.

"Ohayo, Naka-sensei," chorused the class as they settled into their seats.

Naka-sensei grinned, tucking a few strands of medium-length black hair behind her ear. "Okay, so first, I want to start out with a simple introduction session. I want each of you to give us your full name, five facts about your life and three opinions! Also, your age, please." Green eyes crinkled when she smiled.

Haruhi blinked when a slim, manicured finger pointed at her. "You first!" Naka-sensei declared cheerfully.

The girl obediently stood and bowed to the class. "I'm Fujioka Haruhi," she said, trying to smile, but it came out rather nervous. She wasn't good with public speaking. Then she reminded herself why she was here and straightened her spine, inhaling deeply before staring out at them with confidence.

"I'm sixteen. I came here to Ouran on a scholarship, I aim to be a lawyer, I live with my father in a small two bedroom apartment, I had the highest grade in my old school and I'm not very wealthy." She paused, trying to ignore how everyone was watching her with either disdain or mild interest. The twins in the back shared identical evil grins. "I don't like mischief-makers," she said very pointedly, looking directly at them. They blinked in unison. "I love strawberries and... And I think this dress looks horrible on me."

That caused a bout of laughter from the students and even a tiny grin on Naka-sensei's face. Haruhi went on. "Not that this means it doesn't look wonderful on others. It's a pretty dress, but... Not really my thing, to be honest. I hope you'll be kind to me, but at least don't interfere with my studies." She bowed and sat down.

There was a scattered applause before the twins in back jumped to their feet. "Naka-sensei!" they chorused excitedly. "Us next! Us next!"

Naka-sensei grinned. "Sure!" she agreed, waving at them.

They shared a grin then wrapped themselves up in each others' embrace. The one on the left spoke. "We're the Hitachiins," he said.

"Hikaru and Kaoru," agreed his twin, smirking.

"Bet you can't guess who's who!" they added in unison, then laughed mischievously.

The two untangled their legs and turned so they were both facing the whole room, arms draped on each others' shoulders as they hung against one another. The left one began again. "Ho... Five facts first, Kaoru?"

Kaoru, on the right, smiled and winked at the women. "Great idea, Hikaru." They laughed again.

"We like toys," they said.

"Isn't that an opinion, though, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, turning to his twin.

Kaoru pouted. "Oh, dear, you're right," he said, lip trembling.

Hikaru patted his shoulder. "Three opinions first, then!" he declared.

"We also like people," they continued. "And toying with people."

Hikaru nuzzled Kaoru's throat. "We're twins," he pointed out needlessly.

"And rich," Kaoru moaned, eyes drifting closed.

They both looked at the room then, abruptly breaking... whatever it was they'd been doing off. "Our mom's a fashion designer, dad's an accountant. We live in a mansion." They shrugged. "We're sixteen. Okay, that's all you're going to know!"

The girls made sounds of distress and disappointment while the boys rolled their eyes and ignored the twins. Haruhi shook her head as the class rep got up and introduced himself. What an interesting start for an interesting day.

xXx

Later, at lunch, Haruhi found herself being dragged into the cafeteria by a couple excited girls intent on getting to know her. They pushed her to a table and urged her to sit. There was two, but a third joined them and they instantly leaned forward.

"Fujioka-chan!" gasped a blonde, beaming at her. "What's it like?"

"Do you live in a hovel?" asked the redhead beside her.

The black-haired girl sitting beside Haruhi grabbed her shoulders, eyes wide with fright. "Do you have to sell your body?"

Haruhi burst out laughing, one hand clasping her stomach. "Sell my body? What sort of movies do you _watch_?" she asked, skeptical. "No, no. I don't do anything that ridiculous." The girls looked offended at her tone, but she scarcely noticed, just like she didn't notice the blond coming up behind her. "And I don't live in a hovel. Like I said in homeroom, I live in an apartment. My dad has a job, so that's how we pay for things."

"But how'd you get into this school?" the blonde asked, cherry-colored eyes wide with awe. She blushed and beamed at the boy who seated himself beside Haruhi.

The commoner only glanced at him before answering the question, meeting the girl's eyes. "I already said. Did you listen? I got a scholarship."

"Oh, is that so?" the boy spoke up, smiling at her.

She turned and blinked. He was quite a charming, handsome boy with ear-length blond hair and sparkling violet eyes that met hers with confidence and maybe a touch arrogance. His grin was designed to seduce, or at least charm, teeth perfect and pearly.

He noticed her bafflement, apparently, for in the next moment, he'd caught her hand and brought it up to his lips, brushing them over her knuckles. "Such a fair one, for a commoner," he said.

Any stir he'd caused in her hormonal teenage self was dashed in that exact second. With an annoyed sigh, she reached out and pushed him away at the shoulder, extracting her hand and scooting away. "Thanks," she said flatly. "You can go now."

The other girls gasped, eyes wide at her rebuke of this boy that they obviously held in high regard. It was then that two familiar voices broke out into giggles, even as the Hitachiin twins hung off of the stunned blond's shoulders. They gave each other high fives.

"You ill, milord?" asked the one on the left (Haruhi was certain this was Hikaru).

"You don't look so good," added Kaoru, smirking.

The blond turned to them. "Hikaru, Kaoru... You know this girl?"

They shrugged, feigning a chorused yawn. "No, but she introduced herself in class." Haruhi called the following simultaneous shrug a half second before it happened. "Anyway, Kyoya-sempai's looking for you. Apparently, you're skipping and it's annoying our dear Shadow King."

Tamaki sighed and turned back to excuse himself from his conversation... but the commoner had vanished when all attention had shifted to the twins. Damn.

xXx

After the initial hubbub about a poor student at a rich school, everyone pretty much lost interest. For this, Haruhi was very, very happy. She could now focus on her studying, without having to find interesting places to hide from all the curious passersby.

Shaking the thought away, Haruhi stepped around the corner of one of the many, tall book-cases in the second floor library, peering at the vast selection of literature- both fictional and non. So intent on her mission was she that she almost - _almost_ - stepped on what appeared to be a yellow... cat...ish... puppet? "What?" she mumbled, leaning down and picking it up. "I wonder whose it is..."

"Psst!"

She lifted her head, spying a boy that she hadn't ever met before. He was dressed like all the other boys in school, with one exception. His hair was neon green.

Grinning, he glanced around. "Hey, gimme that, would ya? I'll pay ya five thousand yen for it!"

She blinked, frankly stunned at the unneeded waste of so much money (she could buy at least a week's worth of food with that!) and looked down at the puppet in her hand. She looked at the boy, quirking a brow. "Is it yours?" she asked curiously, suspicious. There was no reason to bribe her if it was his in the first place.

He hesitated. "Um, yeah," he said, though it was clearly a lie. Suddenly, though, he choked and grew pale. "Ah! Nekozawa!" That sentiment imparted, he turned and dashed out of sight.

Haruhi blinked. And blinked. "Um... Okay." She shook her head and looked at the puppet, then set it on the bookshelf with a gentle pat to make sure it was secure. She figured its owner would return for it. She was about to move on when someone spoke up.

"Thank you for taking _such_ good care of Bereznof!" a soft, almost creepy-sounding voice murmured.

Haruhi paused and turned, quirking a brow. "With breadnot?" she asked, brows furrowing.

The black-cloaked figure (male, she assumed, by his voice) standing not five feet away twitched. "Bereznof. The puppet, dear Miss Fujioka."

It clicked and she reached out, picking up the yellow puppet. He flinched and reached out, eyes going wide behind the waterfall of dark hair mostly covering his face. She held it out. He froze, jaw going slack. After a moment or two, she waved it a little. "Take it already. I have studying to do, so I'm not going to stand here holding it all day. It's yours, right?"

He nodded mutely, carefully clasping the puppet and pulling it to his chest when she released it. "I... Thank you," he said, eying her curiously.

She shrugged, already turning around. "Makes no sense to not give it back. You're welcome," she replied. "Have a nice day."

She had the oddest sense of being watched all the way out of the library.

xXx

"I think I'm in love," Tamaki sighed wistfully.

Kyoya huffed, not looking up from his lap top as he answered with a sarcastic, "Put the mirror down, idiot."

Tamaki sat up straight, whipping his head around to stare at his friend. "I wasn't looking in a mirror!" he protested indignantly.

Kyoya barely glanced up. "The window is reflective, too, and thus counts."

The twins snickered and mimed the duo. "Honey," Kaoru said with a mischievous grin to echo his duplicate's. "I really think you're a moron."

"I am not dear! I'm brilliant and sexy!" Hikaru replied in a very Tamaki-esque falsetto.

Tamaki's face turned very red. "Hey! You hooligans! Don't even! I'll kick you out!"

The duo turned to face him as one, leaning their weight against each other. "So?" they chorused. "You were the one begging us to join, remember?"

"It's not like we have any specific reason to stay in this club," Hikaru said.

"It's just a pointless waste of extra time, really," Kaoru added.

Kyoya clicked his laptop closed, reaching up to push his glasses up on his nose. "Now, now. It's almost time. Let's get into position, shall we?" he suggested, effectively making them shut up. He was also irritated with their shenanigans.

No sooner had they gotten into position than did the door creak open, revealing a semi-familiar face. She blinked at the shower of rose petals that fell on her upon her entrance. "Oh... Um..." A pink petal fell onto her nose, wobbled and fell when she blinked. She watched it flutter to the ground. "Sorry for the intrusion. The book said this room was empty, so-"

"Ah, welcome!" Tamaki cried, breaking out of his brief moment of bedazzlement at the sight of the pretty, poor girl. He didn't seem to notice the fact that he'd spoken right over her. With a flourish, he was on his feet and before her, pulling her into his arms and dipping her slightly backwards. "Such a pretty girl you are, Fujioka-san!" he crooned, being overtly flirtatious as the others watched on in amusement.

She turned slightly red and stammered, but he didn't seem to notice. "So! What's your type, I wonder?" He straightened and turned her to face the group. "Is it the Wild Type?" He gestured to the silent Mori to the right, then his cousin in front of him. "Or perhaps Lolita?"

"No! I-"

"Maybe the Little Devils, then?" Tamaki asked, turning her attention to the twins. "Or the cool type is a good one too!" Kyoya fixed his glasses when brown eyes darted over him. Before she could really respond, he spun her around to face him again, mouth hovering tantalizingly close to hers. "Or maybe the 'Prince' type is more your style, Fujioka-chan?" he mused, dropping his voice several octaves.

She stared at him in shock, silence descending for several very long, drawn out moments. Then she managed to close her mouth. "I just... wanted to find... a quiet place to study," she breathed, staring at him like he was insane. "... not get involved in this sort of thing!"

His jaw fell open and he subsequently dropped her so that she fell down on her butt with a soft thud. "Th-this sort of thing?" he squeaked. "No, no! You misunderstand my vision!" he cried, walking away and striking a dramatic pose as he began to go on and on about the virtues of a host... She didn't really pay attention.

A hand reached out to her and she looked up, seeing the tall, athletically built third year leaning over her. She took the hand and let him help her up wordlessly. Sighing she dusted off her skirt. "Thanks," she murmured and glowered at the idiot blond's back. He froze and looked over his shoulder at her, eyes wide. She huffed and turned, smiling at the senior. "Have a nice day, sempai," she imparted and turned around to stalk to the door.

Only to have her escape obstructed by a tiny blond senior. He grinned up at her. "Haru-chan! You're a hero, right?" he asked cheerfully.

Haruhi blinked. "What? A _hero_? I'm not a hero. I'm just a scholarship student." Then his words caught up with her and she twitched. "Wait, who said you could call me Haru-chan?" she yelled angrily. That was so rude!

He flinched and gulped. "W-well, I-! Uwaaaa!" He dove onto the couch and buried his face in its cushions at her scary glare, sobbing about how 'mean' she was.

Haruhi sighed, backing up. "Look, I just-" She bumped into something and turned as the very expensive looking vase plummeted to the floor. She reached out as if hoping to catch it-

But silent Mori beat her to it. He managed to get his hand underneath it before it hit, saving it. She sighed with relief, face pale. "Whooo! That was a close one!" the twins chorused, impressed.

That _had_ been close, Haruhi thought, staring at Mori as he lifted the vase and put it back. He looked at her and she beamed at him, unknowingly setting his heart to beating erratically. "Thanks!" she said and turned, leaving without another word. Who knew what would happen should she remain any longer?

Kyoya sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Tamaki, I believe we should make a 'hands off' policy," he commented.

Tamaki wasn't listening. In fact, he had moved to the corner. Kyoya twitched. "Stop growing mushrooms on school property!"

xXx

Kaoru heaved a sigh, staring out the classroom window as the teacher prattled on about something he couldn't quite grasp. Not because he was incapable really, or that he didn't understand... no, it was because Suisotsugo-sensei had this way of talking that just made it completely impossible to pay attention to a word he said.

It was actually kind of annoying, now that he thought about it. Like the way Hikaru got all clingy when they had been apart for longer than ten minutes. Except less adorable.

Of course, Kaoru at least had the satisfaction of knowing that he wasn't the only one falling asleep in his chair.

Smirking, he glanced back at the person sitting on the other side of Hikaru, who sat next to him. Fujioka kept nodding off, only to rouse herself in the next instant with a jerk, looking bewildered.

Hikaru had noticed too, and smirked at his brother. Kaoru caught the message and bit back a grin. When the break between classes came, the two of them draped themselves over her shoulders. She stiffened and glanced first to the right, where Hikaru hung, then the left at Kaoru. "Huh...?"

"I couldn't help but notice your distraction during class," Hikaru drawled.

Kaoru beamed sweetly. "If you'd like, we could help you out!"

"Not for free, of course," they chorused.

She blinked a few times at them, then shook her head and brushed them off her shoulders. "No thank you," she said simply. "The teacher will be in soon; you should sit back down."

Hikaru huffed and stole the seat on her right, carelessly tossing the belongings sitting there over his shoulder. He accepted his bag from Kaoru with a grateful smile. "Okay, sitting," he said as Kaoru took his old seat, to her left.

"I'm Hikaru, by the way," Kaoru said.

Hikaru picked up without so much as blinking. "And I'm Kaoru."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Haruhi-chan," they said in unison.

She looked between the two of them, an odd look in her eye, and frowned. Hikaru lifted a brow, like Kaoru would do in such an instance. "What?"

"It's just..." She stopped and shook her head. "No, I don't really know you well enough. I'm probably wrong."

Kaoru tilted his head. "What?" he echoed his brother.

She sighed, seeing she wouldn't be getting out of this. "I just thought you introduced yourselves the other way around, the first day."

They blinked as one and exchanged a look. That was... different. No one had ever been able to tell, especially not so quickly. Kaoru opened his mouth and Hikaru shook his head. The mouth closed, just as the teacher walked in and grinned at them.

"Hey guys!"

xXx

"He's mooning about again," Kaoru said with a pout, glancing pointedly toward Tamaki when Kyoya gave him a questioning look.

The bespectacled youth followed his gaze and sighed. "Tamaki, we're attempting to have a meeting. This means you, as the club President, should be present. _Now_."

The blond didn't appear to hear him and sighed at the window. Hikaru twitched. "Oi! Tono, get over here!" he yelled, tossing a book and hitting Tamaki in the back of the head. The twins shared a brief moment of victory and high fived. Tamaki fell out of the chair he sat in and landed flat on his face on the floor.

He scrambled to his feet and stomped over to Hikaru, glowering down at him. "Hey, what was that for! How could you harm such beauty in such a way!"

"I was trying to beat the knowledge into your brain," Kaoru inserted.

"I guess you failed, Hikaru," Hikaru replied.

"It seems so."

Tamaki twitched a few times, looking like he was about to attempt to give them a beat down. Kyoya grabbed the back of his shirt and jerked him down into a seat, making Tamaki squeak in alarm. Hani giggled with the twins, creating a rather sinister symphony of cackles.

"Enough," Kyoya said quietly, cutting through the noise like a steak knife through butter. They fell silent. "Good. Now. I will authorize three cosplay days next week if we do two regular dress days. That's about all we can afford anyway. So Tamaki, you need to decide what those cosplays will be. Of course, you are welcome to listen to the input of any of the other members."

Tamaki sighed a little and glanced back toward the windows. "We should do a tropical theme," he said, remembering a pamphlet he found on his desk earlier.

Kyoya nodded and made a notation, resisting the urge to give any sign of victory. "Okay. We can do that Tuesday, and use Monday as a regular dress day. What else?"

"Bunnies!" Hani chirped excitedly. "We should do bunnies!"

"Uh, sorry Hani-sempai, but the ladies don't go for that," Tamaki said, eying the older boy sheepishly.

Hani wilted, holding his rabbit to his chest with a pout. Beside him, Mori shifted and they all looked at him. "You were discussing that samurai show, Tamaki-kun," he said pointedly.

Tamaki beamed at Mori, pleased that he had remembered. "Yeah! We could do that. Girls love dangerous guys, right?"

Kyoya hummed noncommittally and jotted this down. "Thursday, with Wednesday as another regular dress day."

Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged looks. "We could do a day where we wait on them, hand and foot. Maybe dressed as butlers," Kaoru said eagerly.

"The girls totally love hot guys waiting on them," Hikaru added.

"And we're nothing if not hot," they chorused.

Tamaki thought that over. "Or shirtless. They get all swoony when they see me shirtless."

The twins shrugged at the addition and Kyoya took that as assent, scribbling in his book. "We'll do that Friday, and have our next meeting on Saturday."

"Good, we're done?" Tamaki asked, and went on without letting Kyoya reply, glancing out the window. "I'll see you." He grabbed his bag and raced from the room, leaving his club blinking at where he'd been sitting.

xXx

Haruhi was standing at the city bus-stop, waiting for a bus to take her to the train station, when someone jogged up behind her and came to a stop, panting. She turned around and let her brows lift towards her hairline. It was the boy from the cafeteria Monday.

"Are you waiting for the bus?" she asked. So far, no one had shown up for the bus, and she figured they were all riding in limos and all that rich person stuff.

The blond looked up at her and straightened, violet eyes taking her in curiously. "No," he admitted. "I wanted to introduce myself properly. I don't think I've gotten the chance."

She shook her head, remaining skeptical.

He took her lack of objection as permission and gave a courtly bow. "I'm Suoh Tamaki. It's nice to meet you, Fujioka-chan."

Haruhi returned the bow. "I'm Fujioka Haruhi. It's nice to meet you," she replied automatically, despite the fact that he already knew who she was. She shrugged a shoulder, shifting her bag higher up on it. "If that's all..."

He shook his head. "No! Actually, we're planning a dance soon, and I wanted you to come with me. As my date."

"I'm sorry," she replied immediately. "I don't dance. Ask someone else and have fun, though." She gave him an apologetic smile.

But he was relentless, not that she hadn't met men like that. "If you can't dance, I could teach you," he offered. "It's easy!"

She was already shaking her head. "I don't really-"

"She's turning you down, Suoh-kun, take it with grace," a familiar voice murmured.

Tamaki let out a screech and whirled. "N-Ne-Nekozawa-sempai!" he squeaked, taking a step back.

Haruhi had to sidestep to avoid bumping into him. The dark-haired youth's appearance was a mixed blessing, in that he was rescuing her from this pretty boy, but she wasn't sure about his motives. She sighed. Only a week in school and she was already being bothered by boys.

The boy - Nekozawa - waved his hand, on which was that puppet she'd given him back the other day. "Hello, Fujioka-kun~!"

She gave a smile, glancing down the road and sighing in relief when she spied the bus approaching. "Hello. I have to go now, it was nice talking with you!" She turned and picked her books up off the bench as the bus pulled to a stop.

"W-wait!" Suoh protested, taking a step. The bus doors closed in his face, and Haruhi gave the driver a grateful look before finding her seat.

"Boys are so bothersome," she muttered, sighing.

"Tell me about it," the boy next to her mumbled.

Haruhi blinked and turned her head, brows lifting as she took in the redhead. He looked brutish, angry even, though his face was decent-looking enough. Still, he seemed to be expecting some sort of reaction from her, but she wasn't sure what.

"Well?" he demanded sharply, scowling at her furiously. "C'mon, out with it already, I know what you're thinking!"

She blinked again. "You do?"

"Don't make fun, of course I do! You think I'm freaky, right?"

"No."

"Right, so-" He stopped, the expression of anger slipping away. "Wait... what? You... you're not scared of me?" he asked, voice soft with hope.

A tiny part of her went out to him, and she smiled carefully. "No, I'm not," she agreed promptly. "I mean, you haven't really done anything for me to be scared of..."

He flushed bright enough to match his hair and smiled shyly at her. "I'm Kasanoda Ritsu," he said with a nod of his head.

"Fujioka Haruhi. Nice to meet you, Kasanoda-kun!" she chirped sweetly.

A little part of him fell in love. "Say... Fu-Fujioka-chan... are you busy... this afternoon?" he asked, face heating up again.

"Well... I have homework and chores to do," she murmured thoughtfully. "But other than that, no..."

"Could I come?" he asked, eyes wide and hopeful. In a very brutish manner.

Still, his expression prompted a tiny laugh out of her, and she shrugged. "If you don't mind waiting for me to tend to my responsibilities, then sure." She beamed at him, and he smiled back.

xXx

"She-she's been WHAT!" Tamaki shrieked, mortified.

Kyoya frowned at him, tempted to smack his friend upside the head with a rolled up newspaper. "You heard me," he muttered, snapping his black book closed.

The twins were also visibly upset, but at least they were quieter about it. For now. "Wait, back up," Hikaru snapped.

"Are you trying to tell us that she's taken up with the _yakuza_?" Kaoru blurted.

"How is that fair?" they chorused furiously.

Kyoya sighed, setting the book down. "What makes it _any_ of our business anyway? Honestly, if I'd known the three of you would get so _bloody_ upset about this, I wouldn't have mentioned it in the first place."

But Tamaki wasn't listening, not that this was anything new. Instead, he lurched forward and clung to his best friend. "Make her stoooppp, Kyoya! That girl's going to be my future bride! I can't have her hanging with that scary yakuza guy!"

The older boy frowned at him, glasses glinting with a slight cant of his head, as if to display just how ticked he was with the blond. "Fine, idiot, let go already," he growled. "You're going to stretch my shirt." And then his sister would whine at him about it.

Violet eyes lit up, sparkling excitedly. "Oh thank you!" he sobbed.

Kyoya shoved him off, twitching. "Yes, yes, get off already! Idiot!"

The twins relaxed now that Kyoya was enlisted. Kyoya wouldn't fail, right? And if he did... Kaoru glanced at Hikaru, who smiled evilly. If he did fail, the two of them would take care of the problem.

xXx

Haruhi burst out into delighted laughter, prompting a smug grin from her companion. "You're kidding! No way! That's just not realistic!" she cackled, leaning against the wall as she tried not to fall over.

Ritsu smirked even more. "No, really, that's what he did," he insisted, secretly pleased with her giggles. He loved it when she laughed. It sort of reminded him of birdsong.

"Excuse me," a soft voice interjected.

The girl's laughter petered out, and she reached up to wipe a tear of mirth away. "Hm? Can we help you?" she asked the dark-haired boy standing there, still smiling brightly.

He offered them both a polite smile, though he made sure to stay out of Kasanoda's reach. "Hello, I am Ootori Kyoya," he said, adjusting his glasses. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Haruhi smiled back and bowed slightly. "Fujioka Haruhi." She glanced at her companion, and gestured toward him. "And this is-"

"Class 1-D's Kasanoda Ritsu, yes, I'm aware," Ootori responded stiffly. "Actually, it is you, Fujioka-chan, that I have business with today. On behalf of a mutual acquaintance of ours... Suoh Tamaki?" He gave her that plastic smile again.

The brunette eyed him warily, not sure she liked the attitude he gave off. "Ah... Of course. What is it?" she asked, brow furrowing as she tried to think of what he wanted. _Suoh...? Suoh... that sounds familiar... oh! Right, the boy that asked me out last week_.

Well aware of Kasanoda's scowl, Ootori shook his head. "No, ah, alone, I meant. I wish to talk to you alone, Fujioka-chan."

A bit baffled, she nodded slowly. "Oh, yeah, sure, no problem," she said, but as she moved to follow him, her friend reached out and grabbed her by the elbow. She stopped and blinked up at him, but he wasn't looking at her.

Rather, Kasanoda was focused on Ootori instead, expression exceptionally black for once. "If you need me, Haruhi-chan, I'm not goin' anywhere," he said, finally looking at her. "So... just holler."

She smiled, a little touched by the offer of concern. "I will, Ritsu-kun, thank you," she said sweetly.

He nodded and reluctantly released her. Shaking her head, she followed Ootori down the hall twenty paces, and around the corner before he stopped. "Actually, the matter I have to discuss with you is... somewhat delicate," he said. "I feel it is my duty to inform you that your associations with Kasanoda-san are... dangerous, to say the least..."

Haruhi frowned at him. "What? Why would you say such a thing?" she asked. "Ritsu-kun has not ever been anything but nice to me."

"He's yakuza, you know," he replied coolly, eying the irritating slip of a female. Honestly, what Tamaki saw in her he'd never know. Nor did he care to.

The girl looked surprised, and Kyoya waited for the next emotion - relief or fear, who knew with this one - but it didn't come. Instead, she sniffed and turned around. "Thanks for the show of concern, but if that's all, I'll be going back to my _friend_ now."

Kyoya blinked as he watched her walk off. Then he smiled faintly, and it was as if a light bulb clicked on as he suddenly understood. _So that's how he likes her_. She was going to be someone to keep an eye on, definitely.

xXx

**Wow, thanks for reading, and please review. I know things are a bit confusing right now, but it'll get clearer. As explanation... Basically, this is an experiment. I was curious about how things would go if Haruhi didn't get involved with the Host Club (at least not right off), and fall into that weird love thing with Tamaki. I've taken several "facts" stated in the series and created this.**

**The most important facts being, Kyoya mentioned that in middle school, Haruhi had been very popular with the boys, having received at least one confession of love a month. Also, it was mentioned that the reason she dressed herself as a boy was because she'd not had money to buy the uniform AND she'd had to cut her hair because of the gum in it.**

**This is taking those facts and either twisting them around to suit my purposes or sticking right to them. In my opinion, her popularity would have transferred on to her highschool life, and while she wouldn't date anyone, I still think she'd attempt to be friends with them (see the whole debacle during that first summer when Hikaru got jealous).**

**And viola! You have Amended Perception. Please review!**


End file.
